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H. D. PENNEY AND G. F. RUSS.

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION min MAR. 5. 191s.

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ma COLUMBIA PLANOURAMI Cu., WASHINOTUN. D. C.

H. D. PENNEY AND G. F. RUSS.

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPUCATIQN FILED MAR. 5. ma.

1,314,359 Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

. Inl/aidons: Harald DPenney,

H. D.,PENNEY AND G. F. RUSS. SHEET resume MECHANISM.

l APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5| |918. 1, 3 1 4, 35 9 l Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

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Maa Haro/a' Z2 Penne Www. /W/mM/L/ 6601319 y H. D. PENNEY AND G. F. RUSS.

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM. APPL|cA T1oN FILED MAR. 5, 191B.

1 3 1 4;, 35 9 Patented Aug. 26, 1919. I

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

/faro/d D. Penney TWK COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPII C0., WASHINGTON. D. C.

H. D. PENNEY AND G. F. RUSS. SHEET FEEDING MECHINISM. APPLICATION FILED MAH. 5. I9IB.

1,3 1 4,359.' Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

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ma COLUMBIA PLANonnAPM cu.. wAsMlNuroN. n. c.

Inventors:

H. D. PENNEY AND G. F. RUSS. sneer resume MscHAmsM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5| i918.

Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

Harald B17-elm eor eF us5 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HAROLD D. PENN EY, OF PELHAM, NEW YORK, AND GEORGE F. RUSS, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNORS T0 AUTOMATIC INSERTING MACHINE CORPORATION, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK.

SHEET-FEEDING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, HAROLD D. PENNEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pelham, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, and GEORGE F. RUSS, a citizen of the United States, residing at J ersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sheet-Feeding Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates in general to means for successively feeding one or more articles such as sheets of paper, or the like, from a pile of such articles.

The invention finds particular adaptation for use with envelop filling machines such as disclosed in the copending application of Harold D. Penney, Charles F. Whiteman, and George F. Russ, filed November 14, 1917, Serial No. 291,950; and the description and claims herein relate in part to matter originally claimed in said application.

Among the main objects of the present invention it is aimed to provide means for effectively picking 0H' one envelop or one circular at a time from a pile and feeding them forward during a certain predetermined interval of time, and properly positioning them as to time and position for proper subsequent coperation.

A particular feature of the invention is the provision of a feeding element having an active rotary member whereby articles such as envelops, circulars, sheets of paper, or the like, may be successively fed forward in an effective manner.

These and other features, capabilities and advantages of the invention will appear from the subjoined detail description of certain specific embodiments thereof in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation showing piles of circulars ready to be picked;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmental elevation showing the elements coperating with the picker in coperative relation to one another;

Fig. 3 is a fragmental end elevation showing the picker and cooperative parts in c0- operative relation;

Fig. 4 is a fragmental plan corresponding somewhat to the illustration of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmental sectional view showing the picker more in detail;

Figs. 6 and 7 are detail, side and end elevations, respectively, of Vone of the picker rotors;

Fig. 8 is a fragmental section of a modification; and

Fig. 9 is a fragmental plan of the modification shown in Fig. 8.

In the form shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, a platform 10 is provided for receiving articles, such as envelops, sheets of paper, circulars, or the like, in the course of operation of the machine from the pickers or feeding means forming the main part of the present invention. The platform 10 is merely illustrated to show, a suitable means for receiving the articles from pickers and in the present instance has formed thereon and in cooperative relation therewith an abutment plate 11 secured to the bracket 12 mounted on the slide 13 and which travels in the guide-ways 14 formed in the brackets 19. The slide 13 has downwardly extending projections 15 pivotally connected by the links 16 to the levers 17 which are fixed to the shaft 18 journaled in the lower ends of the brackets 19. The shaft 18 has fixed thereon a cam lever 20 which coperates with the cam 21 xed to the driving shaft 22. By means of the cam 21, it will be seen that the abutment plate 11 will be intermittently reciprocated, and this will be timed to be actuated after having received one or more articles to further advance the same according to the requirements and setting of the machine.

In Fig. 1, the platform just described is concealed from view by the plate 23 from beneath which plate 23 the article or articles receivedby the platform 10 are discharged into means carried by the conveyer 24 to be further advanced in the course of operation of the machine.

The means for successively picking one article at a time and feeding it onto the platform 10 will now be described. There may be one or more of such feeding means to successively feed articles to a receiver such as thel receiving platform 10, so that from a plurality of piles of articles, each of a different kind, one from each pile may be fed onto the platform 10 and then such received articles all together advanced in the course of operation of the machine. In Fig. 1, only two chutes, or maga-zines and 26, for carrying such piles of articles are provided which may operate together or individually to feed articles onto the platformlO. When one -or more such chutes 25 and 26 are .set to be operated simultaneously, the feeding of the articles will be preferably timedso that they will alternately feed articles to the platform and thereby insure4 the proper piling of the articlesone above the other when this is desired, and also prevent jamming of the articles when being fed onto the platformV 10. The reciprocation ofthe abutment plate 11 will in such case preferably be timed to operate only after having received an article from each chute. Y Since the chutes 25 and 26 andthe therewith cooperating pickers yare substantially identical in construction and operation, it will only be necessary to describe one in detail, to which end the chute 25 will now be described. The articles a to be fed forward are arranged a pile 27 on the chute 25 on edge, that is, with one of their edges engaging the lower surface or floor of the chute 25 and suitable means provided for feeding such pile forward into position to have the articles successively picked from the chute 25. In` the present instance, the chute isinclined, therebyaifording a gravity feed along the chute 25 .which inclination is kparticularly adapted with the prese-nt device to coperate in other respects hereinafter to be described to further insure the efficient successive feeding of the articles.. y f Y ln, the picking of the articles from the chute 25, there are several elements to contributev more or'less materially to theef-V fectivef operation V'of vthe machine, among vwhich may be enumerated the receding end oor portion 28 ofthe chute 25 and the upper guide-plate v29 from which the articles are fed to'loosely mounted guide-disks 30. exteriorly located of the positively actuated rotatable picker members 31, the friction finger 32 vwhich cooperates with the` picker members 31 to yfrictionally retain Y the succeeding articles from forward movement with the article engaged by the picker members, the' outer guide linger 33 and the feed yrolls 34k andA 35 which coperate with one another to `receive :the articles advance'd by the picker members 431 to `feed the same forward onto the platform 10, the guide finger 33 insuring the proper deflectionof the article fed forward'by the yfeed rolls 34 and 35 onto the platform ,-10. A

, The present device is particularly adapted for use Vwith atarticles a, such as envelops, circulars, and the like, which have aicomparatively small dimension in thickness relative to their width and, length, es-`v pecially their length, and as shown in'V Figs. ljand 5,'the inclination of the chute 25 relativefto the picker members 31 is such that the articles t when in position to be advanced will beinclined with their edges substantially stepped relative to one another, and their faces defined-by their widths and lengths substantially horizontal. When it is desired to prevent feeding of the'articles fromgthe chute 25, it will only be necessary to pack up the pile of articles a; beyond the edge 36 of the plate 29 so that the' advanced or bottommost article may be propped up against such edge 36.

On the other hand, when it is desired to position the articles for feeding, the `articles will be so packed that the Aadvancev or bottommost article will have its advance edge resting on the idlers and the succeeding articles backed up in the stepped relation aforesaid. The receding floor portion 28 constituting slanting means being inclined farther downward than the remainder of thel floorl portionof the' chute 25 will operate to relieve the advancearticles from the weight of the succeeding articles, it being understood that the stepped relation between thesuccessive articles will appear both at their/advance and rear edges, and

thereby facilitate retention of thepsucceedn,

ing articles by thelfriction finger 32 from being advanced with the advance article beingengaged by the picker members 31. The plate29 and the friction linger' 32 `coperate with one another'to properly aline the successive articles inV stepped relation, the

friction nger 32 being disposed between the picker members 31' andk being preferably composed of a'resilient material, such as rubber, Vor the like, will extend down' Y below the upper levels of thepicker members 31 thereby to further depressl and consequentlyfree the advanced article from lthe 4succeeding article Vto further facilitate the exclusive engagement of the advance plate 29, idlers 3() andfriction finger32, is

to elfectively separate and free the advance article for engagement bythe picker members 31 to the exclusion of the succeeding articles. It willl also be seen that bythis means the refined 'adjustment VKsrolnecessary and essential withl the ordinary feed-s for; l

sheets of paper, or the like, is'entirely dispensed with. y c

The picker members 3lV and the idlers 30 are preferably mounted-on the same shaft, in the present instance the shaft 37 on which the disk shaped idlers 30 are loosely mounted, `and on which the picker members 31 are fixed. The idlers 30 are preferably disposed in alinement with imaginary lines passing adjacent to the inner surfaces of thesides of the chute 25 to conveniently receive the articles near their outer lateral edges. The picker means are disposed inwardly of the disks 30 and preferably consist of two disk members, as shown in the present instance, having article engaging means disposed at one portion of their periphery, such as the needles 38. The shaft 37 is driven from a suitable source being connected in the present instance by the bevel gear 39 atone end thereof in mesh with the bevel ear 40 on the driving 'shaft 41 connecte to some suitable source of driving power, not shown. The friction finger 32, the guide-plate 29 and the guide finger 33 are shown mounted on the bracket 42 secured to the chute 25. The guide-plate 29 and friction finger 32 will be' adjusted to exercise a retaining action sufficient to prevent the advance of the succeeding articles with the advance article, but not sufficient to hamper in any way the forward movement of the advance article by the picker members 31.

The feed rolls 34 and 35 are so disposed relative to the picker members 31 which are rotating in a direction to draw the advance article over their tops, that the advance article will be fed right in between such feed rolls 34 and 35, and grasped by such feed rolls 34 and 35 to further advance lthem. The feed rolls 34 and 35 are preferably knurled rolls with a roll 35 adjacent to the outer surface of each idler 30, and a roll 34 in mesh with each of such rolls 35. The positions of the picker members 31 and idlers 30 relative to the rolls 35 is preferably such, as shown in-Fig. 5, where the peripheries of the picker members 31 and idlers 30 will extend in beyond and between the rolls 35.

The rolls 35 are mounted on the shaft 43 which is journaled in the lower ends of the brackets 44, while the rolls 34 are mounted on the shaft 45 which is journalcd in the upper ends of the brackets 44 and resiliently maintains the rolls 34 in engagement with the-rolls 35` by means of the spring pressed bearing portions 46. One end of the shaft 43 has secured thereto a bevel gear 48 in mesh with the bevel gear 49 which is secured to the driving shaft 50 by means of which such shaft 43 is driven, and the other end of the shaft 43 is provided with a gear 51 in mesh with the gear 52 on the shaft 45 whereby the shafts 43 and 45 may be simultaneously driven from the driving shaft 50. The speed of the rolls 34 and 35 relative to the picker members 31 will be such as to effectively grasp and remove the article out of the way of the picker members 31 before the picker engaging means 38 can return into article engaging position. After leaving the rolls 34 and 35, the advance article will preferably be deflected by the finger 33 to discliarge onto the platform 10.

As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the picker disk 31 is preferably formed of two segments 53 andy 54 with the needles 38 slidably mounted in orifices formed in the segment 53 which may he secured to the segment 54 by means of the pins 55 formed on the segments 53 and registering with the orifices 56 in the segment 54. The. needles 38 are locked in position by the advance screws 57 whereby the needles 38 may be adjusted'to extend at various distances to suit the requirements. Each picker 31 is preferably provided with more than one needle 38, in the present instance two needles 38 being shown, one to initiate the feed of the article to be picked, and the other to give such picked article a final forward thrust.

As shown in the modification illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9, the friction finger 58 may extend substantially from one idler 30 to the other. Otherwise the operative parts are substantially the same as the modification illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, except that the article to be fed forward by the picker members instead of being discharged to a platform at a level substantially lower than the discharge level, will be discharged onto the rails 59 substantially at the same level as the discharge level. lVhcn an article is grasped by thel picker members 31 of the modification of Figs. 8 and 9, it will be fed to the rolls 34 and 35 from which it will be fed to the rails 59 and from the rails 59 between the movable aw member 60 and the fixed jaw member 61 which is secured to and carried by the conveyor 24', the movable jaw member being pivotally mounted on the fixed jaw member 61. The movable jaw member 60 has an extension 62 to be engaged by the abutment 63 which is disposed in the path of movement of such extension 62, thereby to open the jaw members at a certain distance from the rolls 34 and 435 to receivethc article A being fed from such rolls 34 and 35. The jaw member 60 is also provided with a spring 64 to immediately rock said aw member 60 into engagement with the article fed forward and thereby between the aw members 60 and 61, when the eonveyer 24 has advanced thc j aw members 60 and 61 beyond the abutment 63.

The elongated resilient Enger 58 it will he seen extends from one idler 30 to the other, and thus resiliently presses each article against said idlers 30.y preventing the rotation of such idlers when an article is not being fed while the intermediate portion of the finger 58, having no support at its middle portion, will be deflected downward and llO thereby deflect the advance edge of the advance article at its intermediate portion into engagement With the picker members 3l.

It Will be seen from Fig. 9` that the rolls 34 are mounted on the shaft which has gears 66 at both ends in mesh With the gears 67 mounted on the stub shafts 68,V on which the rolls 35T are mounted. For" actuating the feed rolls 34 and 35, one of the gears 67 is actuated by some suitable source of poWer not shown. l l

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made to the details of construction without departing from the general spirit of the'invention.

We claim:

1.- In a machine of the `character described, a magazine for holding flat articles by edge engagement, means for advancing said articles with their edges in stepped relation to one another, means for augment-- ing the stepped relation of the advance articles to facilitate the exclusive engagement ofthe advance article for Withdrawal, and meansfor'engaging the'exposed face of the Vfree end of the advance article toV advance such advancearticle. Y

2. 'In a machine of the character d escribed, a magazine for holding flat articles by edge engagement at aninclination with .their edges in stepped relation' to one another, means for deilecting the edges of the advance articles to facilitate the' exclusive engagement of the advance article for Withdravval, and means for engaging the exposed face of the vfree end of the advance article to Withdraw such advance article.

.3. In aV machine of the character described, a magazine for holding flat articles by edge engagement at an inclination With their edges Vin stepped relation to one another, and means for deflecting the advance edges of the advance articlesV at the middle to facilitate exclusive engagement ofthe advance article at such middle portion for Withdrawal.`

lfIn a machine of the character described, a magazine for holding fiat articles l by'edge engagement Vat an inclination with their edges in stepped relation to one an- VVother,`means for successively extracting the articles from.the magazine and disposed to operate'me'diallyof the articles being extracted, and means for deflecting theY advance'edges 'of the advance articles at "the middle to Vfacilitate the exclusive engagei ment of the'advance article by said extracting means. Y

5', In a machine of theV character ldescribed, aV magazine for holding iiat articles by edge engagement atan inclination With exposed faces of the free 'ends of the advance articles to extract them from said magazine. n Y 1 `6. 'In a machine of the character described, a magazine for holding at articles by edge engagement at an inclination With their edges in stepped relation to one another tofacilitate the exclusive engagement of the advance article for Withdrawal, means for successively engagingthe exposed faces of the free ends of the advance articles to ,extract them from said magazine, and means for grasping the article extracted and removing the same out of engagement with the extracting means before the succeeding article vis engaged. Y

7.V In a machine of the character described, a magazine for holding flat articles by edge engagementvat an inclination With their edges `in stepped relationl to one another to facilitate the exclusive engagement of the advance-article -for Withdrawal, rotatable pins forl successivelyengaging the exposed faces of the freeends of the advance articles toiextract'them from said magazine, and means for graspingthe article extracted and removing the same'outcf engagement with the rotatable pinsbeforethe succeeding article is extracted.v 4

8. In a Y machine of the character described, a magazine having a'floo'r :for holding a plurality of `flat articles onl edge and being'di'sposed at anrinclination to gravitationally advance said articles, said articles being inclined relative to .said floor so that vthe upper ends of thearticles are inadvance, of their lower ends and their edges are instepped relation to one another to facilitate the exclusive engagement of the upper end of the advance article for` Withdrawal. i f 1 9. InV a machine/'of the character described, a magazine having a floor vfor holding a plurality of iiat articles by edgeengagement and being disposed at an inclination to gravitationally advance' said articles, said Varticles being'linclined relative to said Hoor so that their edges are in stepped relation to one another, and a receding floor portion at the lovver end of said floor to relieve the advance articles from Lthe VWeight of thersucceeding articles to facilitate the exclusive Vengagement of the'advance article for Withdrawal.

' l0. In a machine 'ofthe., character4 described, al magazinehaving a Hoor for holding a plurality of flat articles byv engaging their ,edges and :being disposed at an inclination to gravitationally advancel'said articles, said articles being Vinclined relative to said Hoor so that their edges are in 'stepped rela- Y. tion Ytoqone another, disks forsupporting.

the sides of the kadvance edges of said articles, means forsuccessively extracting said articles operating between said disks, and

means for deflecting the advance edges of said advance articles medially of said disks to further facilitate the exclusive engagement of the advance article by said extracting means.

11. In a machine of the character described, a magazine having a floor for holding a plurality of flat articles by engaging their edges and being disposed at an inclination to gravitationally advance said articles, said articles being inclined relative to said floor so that their edges are in stepped relation to one another, disks for supporting the sides of the advance edges of said articles, means for successively extracting said articles operating between said disks, and means for deflecting the advance edges of said ad- Vance articles medially of said disks to further facilitate the exclusive engagement of the advance article by said extracting means and frictionally retain the succeeding articles from advancement with said advance article. i

12. In a machine of the lcharacter described, a magazine for holding a plurality of flat articles by edge engagement, means for successively extracting said articles from said magazine, and means for detiecting the advance article at the point of engagement with said extracting means without removing the same from. the magazine to facilitate the exclusive engagement of said advance article by said extracting means.

13. In a machine of the character described, a magazine for holding a plurality of fiat articles by edge engagement, disks for supporting the sides of the advance edges of said articles, and means disposed between said disks for successively engaging said articles to extract the same from said magazine and including a rotatable disk having a needle projecting from its periphery for engaging the face of the advance article to advance the same.

14. In a machine of the character described, a magazine for holding a plurality of flat articles by edge engagement, disks for supporting the sides of the advance edges of said articles, means disposed between said disks for successively engaging said articles to extract the same from said magazine and including a rotatable disk having a needle projecting from its periphery for engaging the face ofthe advance article to advance the same, and means for adjusting said needle to suit the requirements.

15. In a machine of the character described, a magazine for holding a plurality of flat articles by edge engagement, and means for successively engaging said articles to extract the same from said magazine and including a rotatable disk embracing a removable segment and a needle adjustably mounted in said segment to project from the periphery of said disk.

16. In a machine of the character dcscribed, a magazine for holding a plurality of fiat articles by edge engagement, means for successively engaging said articles to extract the same from said magazine and in cluding a rotatable disk embracing a removable segment and a needle mounted in said segment to project from the periphery of said disk, and means for adjusting the extent of said needle to suit the requirements.

17. In a machine of the character described, a magazine for holding a plurality of articles stepped relative to one another, means for supporting the sides of the ad- Vance articles, means for successively cx tracting the articles from said n'iagazine operating medially of said supporting means, and a rubber finger disposed to deflect the advance edges of the advance articles so as to facilitate the exclusive engagement of the advance article by said extracting means and also frictionally retain the succeeding articles from advancement with said advance article.

18. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a magazine for holding flat articles, means for supporting the rear end of the bottommost article, means for supporting the sides of the advance end of the bottommost article, the intermediate part of the advance end of said bottommost article being free of support, and means for engaging the lower face of said intermediate part of the lowermost article for extracting the same.

19. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a magazine for holding flat articles, slanting means for supporting the rear end of the bottommost article, anti-friction means for supporting the 105 advance end of the bottommost article, the intermediate part of said bottommost article being free of support, and means for engaging the lower face of the lowermost article for extracting the same.

20. In a machine of t-he character described, the combination of a magazine for holding flat articles, means for supporting the rear end of the bottommost article, means for supporting the advance end of 115 the bottommost article, the intermediate part of said bottommost article being` free of support, means for engaging the lower face of the lower-most, article for extracting the same, and yieldable friction means for 120 retarding the movement of the next to the bottom article as the bottommost article is extracted.

21. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a magazine 'for 125 holding flat articles, means for supporting the rear end of the bottommost article, means for supporting the advance end of the bottommost article, the intermediate part of Said bottommost article being free of sup- 130 port, means forengaging the lower face of the loWermost article for extracting the same, and means for retarding the movement of the next to the bottom article as the bottommost article is extracted, said retarding means having more adhesion for the articles than the articles do for each other and less than the extracting means have for the articles.

22. In a machine of the character de scribed, the combination of a magazine for holding flat articles, means for supporting the rear end of the bottommost article, means for supporting the advance end of the bottommost article, the intermediate part of said bottommost article being free of support, means for engaging the lower face of the loWermost article for extracting the same, and yieldable friction means for retarding the movement of the next to the bottom article as the bottommost article is extracted, said retarding means having more adhesion for the articles than the articles do for each other and less than the extracting means have for the articles.

23. In a machine of the character de'- scribed, the combination of, a magazine adapted to hold articles of varying thickness, means comprising a picker pin adapted to pull out theendmos't article, and yieldable friction means adapted to engage the intermediate part of the next to the endmost article when said endmost article is being drawn out and deflect the intermediate parts of said articles.

24. In a machine of the character described, the combination of, a magazine for holding a plurality of flat articles, means for engaging the sides of the outer flat face of the endmost article, and yieldable means for engaging the intermediate part of the endmost articles, delecting such part and holding in place the next to the endmost article as the endmost article is being drawn out.

25. In a machine of the character described, they combination of, a magazine for Copies of this patent may be obtained for vfive cents each, by addressing' the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

holding a plurality of flat articles, means for engaging the sides of the outer iiat face of the endmost article, and yieldable means for engaging the intermediate part of thel endmost articles, deflecting such part and holding in place the next to the endmost article as the endmost article is being drawn out, said yieldable means affording more resistance to the movement of the articles than do the articles upon each other and less re- .sistance to the movement of the article than the removing means exerts upon the article.

26. In a machine of the character described, the combination of, a magazine slanting toward its discharge end Vand adapted to hold flat articles therein in approximately horizontal position `with the rear end of the article resting against the magazine, rotatable disks supporting the advance end of the lowermost article, revolving picker pins adapted tolengage the loWermost article and'pull the same out of the magazine, and a yieldable friction block adapted to engage the advance -ends ofi a plurality of said loyvermost articles for retarding all of said articles except the lovver most as said lovvermost article is extracted by the pins. Y f

27 In a machine of the character de-V scribed, the combination of, a Vmagazine adapted to hold and support flat articles at their rear ends, means for supporting the advance end of the lowermost article, means comprising a picker pin adapted to engage the intermediate part of the lower face ofl H. I. SIEGEL, H. M. KILPATRICK.

intermediate part 

